.22 auto for a 9 year old.

[scalawag pimp]

I want to get my son a nice .22 auto to plink with. He shoots my 9, 357 mag, .40, .45, etc. but I want something he can hold well and start taking his time to improve accuracy. I am leaning toward the browning buckmark but he would like something similar to the Sig mosquito because it “looks more like the things he shoots”. Of course I don’t care about looks as much as reliability, quality and accuracy. I know Smith & Wesson and Berretta have some .22 auto that seem to be popular also.

Any advice on pros and cons of all models would be helpful.

 

[NightShade]

We picked up a ruger sr22 for plinking.

The grip is probably a pretty good size for your son's hand and two different grips are available. They also include finger extensions for the magazines. The takedown for cleaning is simple once you see it and do it a couple times though putting it back together is a little difficult to do just right and can take a couple tries. It's not a super accurate target pistol but is nice all around.

http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/03/ralph/gun-review-ruger-sr22/

 

[Freedom@AnyCost]

Most accurate and dependable .22 pistol I have ever shot is the S&W Model 41. It is also very simple to disassemble and reassemble which is probably its single biggest advantage over the competition.

Mine is from th 60's and is more accurate than most rifles. I assume the recent manufactured pistols are just as accurate...especially the performance center variants. Dad will enjoy testing his accuracy with the pistol just as much as son.

 

[scalawag pimp]

Nightshade: thanks for that article. I had not considered the ruger for some reason. Will now.

Freedom: Now we are talking! As a colt collector I was considering a woodsman but I was afraid it would become my gun. I could see the smith doing the same.

 

[ronny]

$8-900 for a good used 41 is a tad expensive for a kid's plinker. Of course, I guess it's all relative, if you're flush.

I'd consider a used Ruger Mark.

 

[Freedom@AnyCost]

It has been my experience that the cheaper firearms often turn out to be the most expensive. If that doesn't make sense, let me explain.

Assume an annual inflation rate of 0% to keep it simple. Also assume both pistols are kept in pristine condition, which may or may not be a valid assumption depending on the child (keep in mind, some children will take better care of property they know has significant value). Also assume both pistols are purchased used, so someone else takes the depreciation hit, and held for five years before being sold:

Pistol A:
Purchase price - $800
Maintenance / Repair costs - $0 (shipping and repairs covered by manufacturer)
Sale Price: $775 - $900
Cost to Own: $25 to a profit of $100


Pistol B:
Purchase price - $325
Maintenance / Repair costs - $0 - $150
Sale Price: $250 - $300
Cost to Own: $25 - $225

It has been my personal experience the less expensive pistols usually wound up costing me much more in the long term when taking into account total cost to own, as opposed to looking exclusively at the initial out of pocket cost.

If a pistol is purchased used and worth as much or more tomorrow as today which is usually the case with high quality specimens, the purchase is an investment, not an expense. It is a conversion of one asset (cash) to another (a pistol).

A tangible investment like a high quality pistol is also a great low risk hedge against inflation. After you explain this to your wife, she will go from being upset when you bring home a new "Toy" to happy about the new "investment" you made to protect your family from the wealth draining effect of inflation!!!

 

[Freedom@AnyCost]

I should add, I've heard mostly good things about the Ruger. That was one of the finalists when I was researching .22 target pistols. It was very well reviewed by most people who owned it. The only real complaint owners consistently expressed was complexity of disassembly and reassembly and losing small parts in the process.

Since I shoot mine as often as possible and thoroughly clean it after every outing, the relative simplicity of the Model 41 design won me over. Had the Model 41 not been an option, the Ruger would have been a no brainer.

I have a couple of Ruger rifles and they are a joy to shoot. Good quality for the price so I consider them a good value. If the Mark anything like the rifles, you will not be disappointed.

 

[gearys 5600]

My Ruger SR22 will eat ANY ammo. Great little guns.

 

[_CY_]

I want to get my son a nice .22 auto to plink with. He shoots my 9, 357 mag, .40, .45, etc. but I want something he can hold well and start taking his time to improve accuracy. I am leaning toward the browning buckmark but he would like something similar to the Sig mosquito because it “looks more like the things he shoots”. Of course I don’t care about looks as much as reliability, quality and accuracy. I know Smith & Wesson and Berretta have some .22 auto that seem to be popular also.

Any advice on pros and cons of all models would be helpful.

besides holding well for a 9 year old .. he's got to be able cock slide back without losing control.
be sure to check out Ruger MK series pistols.

it's worth noting NO 9year old's judgement can be trusted unsupervised with a firearm.

my fav is ruger mk 2

 

[orangeRcode]

I recently purchased a Browning Buckmark from an OSA member for my son's 10th bday. He loves it. I feel like I've trained him well. The first thing he did with it after checking to make sure it wasn't loaded and looking it over was to take it and put in the gun safe. I've owned a Buckmark myself for 20+ years and has always functioned well for me.